The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-09-23
The Proposed Tax Law.

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of the Bill which has been prepared
by committee app ointed by the
Maryland State Farmers Association
to be brought before the Legislature
that will assemble in January.
Accompanying the draft of the tax
law, which is proposed is a report.
discussing the subject of taxation. The
committee have prepared bill which
is far reaching in its efforts to tax
all property, with a few exceptions
Bill exempts 5000 from taxation which
is very light, compared with the most
enterprising and advanced states, $500
we should consider small enough
amount of property to exempt, if any
is to be set free of taxation.
The clause in Section II, relating to
manufacturing would seem to aim at a
special tax or double enumeration OF
the same property. In Section 4, Unit
ed States Bon0s are included with 9TH
err stocks as taxable property, but the
holders of such bonds having Uncle
Sam at their backs will not be in a
hurry to pay into the treasury of the
counties and state of Maryland taxes
on this class of property. 1t is weak
ness for grave committee to enumer
ate such property as subject to taxat-
ion by state authority.
"All articles of personal property"
covers wearing apparel, which will be
apt to be stricken out when the Bill
comes before the legislature. The cit
izen has paid fair share of tax ON
these through the custom house.
Among household goods, books and
pictures are listed. These articles can
not be classed as producing anything
that is taxable. They contribute to
the culture and refinement OF the fam
lily. to make home happier and eleatve
the standard of civilization and good
citizenship. The committee in their
report emphasize this point very forci-
bly, in the following paragraph.
"One if not the chief objection to
life on the farm is the want of the or
binary conveniences attainable in
towns and cities. AS an encourage
ment to people to engage in agricultur
al pursuits upon which after all the
civilized world must depend, it would
seem wise to exempt all Improvements
on farms. that do not directly tend to
increase their agricultural or CONNER
cial value. The exemption of improve
ments upon the dwelling house and
surroundings which simply add to the
personal comforts and crafty the tas tie
of the residents, will induce the farm
ing population to beautify and improve
their homes and not only make life on
the farm more desirable. but in its eff
feet on the whole population benefi-
cial.' This argument requires aug.
mented force when applied to the pri
waite library, which is even more po-
tent in securing the desirable results
here pointed out as sufficient reason
for eXempting all improvements about
the farm which assist in creating a
cultivated taste and higher standard
of civilization, while adding nothing
to the material wealth of their own
ers.
The reasons for exempting church
and school property apply with unles.
sened force to the library and adorn.
ment of the private home.
The committee advise wisely when
they propose the exemption of all
liens and debts. The amount of the
mortgage shall be deducted from the
taxable value of the property. and the
interest too, paid on the mortgage
should be deducted. for 1t is essentially
part of the mortgage or Indebtedness
1t is a glaring outrage to tax debt, as
the advocates in this State of mortgage
taxes have always attempted to do. II
would simplify matters to make the
collectors tax receipt on the amount
covered by the mortgage good for the
face of it as payment of interest to the
mortgage.
The Bill prepared by the committee
is vast Improvement on the crude
tax laws of the state which have been
in vogue for u century, and farmers
every where should look to it that
their representatives to the LegisIa-
ture are instructed to give the bill
their ardent supporC, when such slight
amendments are made to it, that a
more careful examination and analy-
sis may discover are needed.
The Baltimore Sun, true to it's in.
stincts refers to the labors of the COM
mittee with a smear at their recon-
mendation on the mortgage question.
A new tax law and no constitutional
convention should be the most promi-
nent questions of the political cam
paign this fall, and the men possessing
the most ability to put through these
measures should be chosen to compose
the legislature.